A Christmas card is useless without a picture, so don’t bother sending one. If you really want to pretend you care, send a video message from the lovely Carole and Stella Artois.

Accessible via the brand’s Facebook page and website, fans can enter a friend’s name and address to create their holiday message. From there, Holiday Carole does the rest, arriving virtually at the recipient’s front door, where she sings a holiday carol and presents the card’s receiver with a virtual Stella Artois limited-edition holiday bottle, served in a personalized Stella Artois chalice. This modern holiday greeting integrates images of Carole on her journey with images of the recipient’s own city or town, thanks to Google Street View and Maps technology.

Like any lonely old man, I sent myself a card just to feel loved. Stella actually did a great job integrating Street View to give you a glimpse of your neighborhood without just zooming in on the satellite view. It’s not quite on par with Arcade Fire’s video for “The Wilderness Downtown,” but what is? It’s also apparently snowing in Florida right now.

While not exactly going to swiffer the nation, this is a clever way for Stella to introduce their new limited-edition bottle as well as remind people that they have chalices for sale. Nothing like the gift of glassware for the holiday season. You can send your own greeting on their website and Facebook page.

About Colin Joliat...
Colin Joliat is the 2nd best person to ever come from Flint, Michigan, behind only Andre "Bad Moon" Rison. He covers the food & alcohol industries with two parts information, one part comedy, and one part WTF is wrong with this guy. He's currently pretending people care about his new drunken venture, Boozist.